Diplomate Digest - The American Board of Ophthalmology Blog

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Nov 21, 2019
3 min

Academy Announces 2019 Award Recipients

Congratulations to the following American Board of Ophthalmology diplomates who were honored by the American Academy of Ophthalmology last month during AAO 2019 in San Francisco: Special Recognition Award: William L. Rich III, MD Dr. Rich's long and distinguished service for the Academy includes major contributions in advocacy, practice management and quality of care measurements for ophthalmologists. Outstanding Humanitarian Service Award: David F. Chang, MD and Graham E. Qu

Nov 13, 2019
1 min

ABO Director Steven Gedde, MD, Inducted into University Honor Society

American Board of Ophthalmology Director Steven Gedde, MD, was tapped into Iron Arrow this month at a traditional tapping ceremony. Iron Arrow is the University of Miami’s highest honor society. Based on Seminole Indian tradition, Iron Arrow recognizes those in the university community who exemplify the qualities of leadership, character, humility, scholarship, and love of alma mater. A glaucoma specialist, Dr. Gedde is Bascom Palmer’s vice chair of education and the residenc

Sep 6, 2019
2 min

ABO Diplomate Receives National Award for Championing Children's Eye Health

The National Center for Children's Vision and Eye Health at Prevent Blindness (NCCVEH) has named American Board of Ophthalmology Diplomate Anne L. Coleman, MD, PhD, as the recipient of the fifth annual Bonnie Strickland Champion for Children's Vision Award. The award recognizes significant efforts to improve children's vision and eye health at the state or national level and will be presented at the NCCVEH Annual Meeting on Sept. 14, 2019, in Baltimore, Md. Dr. Coleman is the

Jan 2, 2019
3 min

2019 Quarterly Questions: How 1 Activity Delivers 4 MOC Benefits

The American Board of Ophthalmology’s Quarterly Questions program is both a learning activity and a longitudinal assessment tool that serves as the heart of the Maintenance of Certification (MOC) process. As of 2019, the Quarterly Questions program officially replaces the DOCK Examination. Available online, on-demand, and completed at your own pace, the Quarterly Questions program invites participants to answer clinical practice-related knowledge questions and enhance ophthal

Jan 1, 2019
1 min

Apply Now to the 2019-2020 ABMS Visiting Scholars Program

The American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS) Visiting Scholars Program is a one-year, part-time program that positions early career physicians as future health care leaders. The Visiting Scholars Program facilitates research in areas including physician assessment, performance and quality improvement, continuing professional development, and initial and continuing board certification. The application period for 2019–2020 closes May 1, 2019 at 5:00 p.m. CT. Notification of

Dec 31, 2018
7 min

Get to Know the 2019 American Board of Ophthalmology Maintenance of Certification Program

Excellence begins at board certification, but it doesn’t end there. For physicians, what it means to be excellent advances with every new discovery and technological breakthrough. To offer patients the highest levels of care in ophthalmology, board-certified ophthalmologists adapt and improve on a lifelong continuum. So, too, does the program for Maintenance of Certification (MOC). What started as a regimented sequence of activities and assessments in the 1990s has evolved in

Dec 30, 2018
1 min

The Difference Between Ophthalmologists, Optometrists, and Opticians

With the help of American Board of Ophthalmology diplomate Stephanie Marioneaux, MD, of Chesapeake, VA, U.S. News & World Report recently posted an article designed to help educate patients on the differences between ophthalmologists, optometrists, and opticians. Dr. Marioneaux noted that in addition to extensive and rigorous medical education and ophthalmic training, ophthalmologists become board-certified: By the time an ophthalmologist has completed training, Marioneaux sa

Dec 5, 2018
5 min

11 Ways To Get Involved With the ABO

The impetus for board certification in American medicine did not come from the federal government or even public watchdogs. It arose more than a century ago from practicing physicians like you who wanted to address concerns about the qualifications and training of individuals claiming to be specialists in ophthalmology. In the early 1900s, leaders of our profession came together and established a framework for board certification in a medical specialty that would go on to set

Nov 29, 2018
2 min

New CME Menu Launching in 2019 Will Expand MOC Activity Options for ABO-Certified Ophthalmologists

The American Board of Ophthalmology (ABO) will partner with the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME®) in 2019 to expand opportunities for ABO-Certified ophthalmologists to earn Maintenance of Certification (MOC) credit for participating in continuing medical education (CME) activities that meet ABO standards. The new collaboration is designed to increase the number and diversity of accredited CME activities that meet the requirements for ABO MOC and

Nov 1, 2018
5 min

Congratulations and Welcome to Our Newest Diplomates (Fall 2018)

The American Board of Ophthalmology diplomate community officially grew 284 members stronger today. Please join us in congratulating the following newly board-certified ophthalmologists on their professional achievement in having recently passed both the Written Qualifying Examination (WQE) and Oral Examination. -A- Frances Acosta, M.D., Tampa, FL Matthew Adams, M.D., Rochester, MN Mariam Ahmad, M.D., Denver, CO Shazia Ali, M.D., Manvel, TX Joseph Alsberge, M.D., San Francisc

Oct 24, 2018
2 min

How a Mid-Career Fellowship Changed One Ophthalmologist's Perspective

American Board of Ophthalmology Director Jane Bailey, MD, enjoyed a comfortable life in Nebraska with an active family and a busy private practice. But after 21 years, she longed for a new professional challenge: to experience the work she loved in a whole different way. So, in 2017, at the age of 51, she left her successful practice behind, packed her bags, and moved her family 250 miles to enroll in a neuro-ophthalmology fellowship training program at the University of Iowa

Oct 10, 2018
2 min

Dr. Martha Wright Receives American Board of Ophthalmology's Goldfeller Volunteer Service Award

On October 5, 2018, the American Board of Ophthalmology recognized the extraordinary dedication of diplomate Martha M. Wright, MD, of Minneapolis, who has served as an Examiner at 20 Oral Examinations. For her long record of service, she was presented with the ABO’s Goldfeller Award. Dr. Wright became an Examiner for the first time in 2001 and has participated in exam development every year since 2013. (Dr. Wright is pictured with ABO Chair Dale Heuer, MD.) Dr. Wright is a pr

Sep 24, 2018
2 min

Remembering Dr. Martha Farber (1950-2018), First Woman Ophthalmologist to Chair the American Board o

The ophthalmic community mourns the loss of Martha J. (Gilmore) Farber, MD, 67, of Delmar, NY. Dr. Farber, who became the first woman ophthalmologist to chair the American Board of Ophthalmology in 2009, was a distinguished physician and educator who dedicated her life to serving veterans in Albany. Dr. Farber graduated with honors from SUNY Downstate Medical School in Brooklyn and went on to complete her internship at Albany Medical Center. She then entered residency trainin

Sep 13, 2018
2 min

Tennessee Diplomate to be Honored with ABO’s Clarkson Quality Improvement Award at AAO 2018

When cornea specialist Sahar Kohanim, MD, MPH, noticed a high number of patients experiencing severe corneal ulcers due to exposure keratopathy in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) she set out to make changes. Collaborating with residents and medical students, she designed an Improvement in Medical Practice project for Maintenance of Certification to quantify and reduce the incidence of exposure keratopathy-related corneal ulceration. “Exposure keratopathy is completely preventab

Sep 12, 2018
1 min

ABO Earns GuideStar’s Platinum Seal of Transparency

The American Board of Ophthalmology recently earned the 2018 Platinum Seal of Transparency from GuideStar, the world’s largest source of nonprofit information. The ABO is committed to transparency and integrity in stewarding its finances, which are derived almost entirely from examination fees. “ABO diplomates and candidates for ABO certification are our colleagues, and they should be confident that the ABO, as a not-for-profit organization dedicated to serving the public and

Aug 7, 2018
1 min

AAO 2018: Earn CME, SACME and Attend ABO Sessions

ABO Learning Lounge: Learn About Quarterly Questions On Monday, Oct. 29 from 3:30 to 4:30 PM, the ABO will host a Quarterly Questions Learning Lounge at the 2018 American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO) Annual Meeting in Chicago. Join us in Theater 1 to learn more about our newest assessment program and hear from some “early adopters.” Hosted by ABO MOC Chair Andreas K. Lauer, M.D., the discussion will also feature ABO Directors Jane Bailey, M.D., Harold E. Shaw, Jr., M.D., a

Aug 1, 2018
1 min

Observer Calls Oral Examination a "Model of Professionalism"

Ophthalmology Times recently published a guest editorial by James Lifton, MBA, a public member of the American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS) Board of Trustees who observed the American Board of Ophthalmology's June Oral Examination. In the editorial, which summarized his experience at the examination and his perceptions of the process, Lifton wrote that the Oral Examination, "offers a model of professionalism to ophthalmologists, most just beginning their careers...[p]h

Jul 26, 2018
2 min

How the ABO Reports Your Certification Status

A recent American Academy of Ophthalmology Advisory Recommendation requested that the American Board of Ophthalmology modify its public reporting to include the dates of initial ABO certification in addition to whether a diplomate is participating in Maintenance of Certification. Actually, the ABO has been reporting such information for several years with the goal of helping patients make informed decisions when choosing a doctor. Reporting Certification Status: How it Works